The City of Toronto is calling on the Ford government to hold a public inquiry into what has gone wrong with the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
Coun. Josh Matlow introduced the motion on Thursday, requesting the provincial government to “launch a public inquiry into the causes of the ongoing delays, the fractious relationship between Metrolinx and their Public-Private Partnerships-contracted consortium, Crosslinx, and increased costs in the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit.”
Matlow’s motion also invited Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria and Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster to appear before the next city council meeting in November or December and answer their questions.
Two years ago Matlow tried to call for a public inquiry over the Crosstown delays but it was shot down by then-mayor John Tory and city council. This time around, his motion easily passed and without debate.
“There is finally a formal request by the City of Toronto to Metrolinx and the Minister of Transportation of the province to get down to the facts, to be transparent, to be accountable,” he said.
Matlow acknowledges the request is mainly symbolic and ultimately it is up to the province to call any kind of inquiry.
“Some things we control as a city council but what we don’t control we should at least advocate for,” he added.
Metrolinx has yet to reveal a timeline for the opening of the much-maligned transit project, saying it would give three months’ notice. While acknowledging in September that several important milestones were reached, an opening date is not expected now before 2025.
